Unknown how much time passed, someone spoke in a hoarse voice, "Say, if we go and apologize to the Uchiha and admit our mistakes now, would they be willing to come back?"
"Konoha was established by the Uchiha clan. This is their home!"
No one answered him, because the facts were right in front of them.
Unless the brains of the Uchiha clan members had been squeezed by a door, how could they possibly return to Konoha?
But this sentence made the Konoha villagers invariably start thinking—
If the Uchiha clan hadn't left Konoha, would their lives have become like what the Kumogakure ninja described in the thank-you letters?
The answer was self-evident.
Because before the Uchiha clan left Konoha, they had originally enjoyed the life Kumogakure ninja had now.
Life was stable, with no worries about food or drink.
All the changes happening in Konoha Village now were inextricably linked to the departure of the Uchiha clan.
In this moment, the villagers of Konoha began to regret. They finally sensed that they seemed to have lost something particularly important...
Inside the Hokage's Office, smoke swirled.
Like the villagers of Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen also hadn't closed his eyes all night.
On his desk lay nearly a hundred thank-you letters written by Kumogakure ninja.
The content of every single one made him feel shocked to the core.
Especially the one personally written to him by Uchiha Yuzuru. It was simply murder of the heart. When he first saw it, Sarutobi Hiruzen had nearly died of anger.
"My dear Sandaime, is your body still well recently?"
"After leaving Konoha, many things happened. I finally figured it out. Actually, the one the Uchiha clan should thank the most is you."
"In order to make us determined to leave the village, you used your ugly face to constantly persecute and ostracize our Uchiha clan. It can be said you took great pains."
"Later, the Nine-Tails went berserk and Konoha Village suffered heavy losses, but in order to let us live affluently on the outside, you still decisively scraped together 10 billion ryo for reparations. It almost moved me to tears."
"Not long after, for my safety, you used public opinion to force away Hatake Sakumo, giving me a powerful guard like the White Fang."
"Later, seeing that our Land of Lightning lacked funds for major infrastructure projects, you used the daimyo's orders to proactively send people to die, once again generously opening your purse to give 10 billion ryo..."
"When we lived in Konoha, our Uchiha clan was very dissatisfied with you, with Shimura Danzo, with Homura Mitokado, and with Koharu Utatane. But now that we've left the village, we've discovered your virtues."
"You must take care of your health and keep Konoha firmly in your hands. If anyone wants to overthrow your rule, please remember... I, Uchiha Yuzuru, will always be your strongest shield."
"The Rogue Ninja Uchiha Yuzuru—Loyalty!"
That thick tone of mockery made Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turn as red as a monkey's butt.
He regretted it terribly now.
If he had known things would develop like this, back then he would rather have risked Konoha being conquered by other shinobi villages to make the Uchiha clan completely disappear from this world!
Just then, the office door was shoved open violently, making a loud bang.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up and found that Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Shimura Danzo had already walked in front of him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said somewhat unhappily, "Danzo, didn't I ground you?"
"They are all clamoring for me to atone with death!"
He had still been thinking about using the Shinobi Alliance matter to earn prestige, using this as political capital for his Hokage campaign.
They had certainly earned a reputation now, but it was a notorious one!
With his reputation in ruins, how could he continue to serve as Hokage?
Koharu Utatane paused for a moment before continuing, "This is simply alarmist talk!"
Hearing the complaints from Shimura Danzo and the others, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "It is too late to say anything now. These letters are everywhere in Konoha. The villagers have already seen them. Even if we forcibly confiscate them, it will be useless."
Hearing this, Shimura Danzo said coldly, "Then what do you propose we do?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the three of them and said in a deep voice, "Someone must step forward and take responsibility."
"Danzo, your reputation is already ruined anyway. You should be the villain."
Shimura Danzo was immediately unhappy when he heard they wanted to dump the black pot on him. "Hiruzen, can you stop making me be your scapegoat every time something like this happens?"
"The village has become like this, and you, the Hokage, bear the greatest responsibility."
"If you ask me, you should just abdicate and let someone worthy take over."
"Think about it. With your current reputation, even if I abdicated, would anyone choose you to be Hokage?"
Shimura Danzo froze for a moment, and his voice grew quieter. "Even if you don't abdicate, you can't make me take the fall."
"Then you provide the money."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said indifferently, "The villagers will complain and be dissatisfied, but in the end, it is because they have no money in their pockets and no food in their bowls."
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